Next two weeks will show us what ambition this club has.

[Tigerish]

There'll be just one or two decent fixtures next year, as opposed to this year when every game has a degree of excitement and anticipation for me. Hence my season ticket. Probably pay as I go next year. Port Vale, Northampton, and Shrewsbury hardly do the trick and after this year, blind loyalty has gone. If Tony Stewart dares to increase season ticket prices next year it will be a big mistake. They should be reduced.

[Derbymiller]

So we just sign any player to make fans feel
better .Would like to think RUFC don’t work like that . Better players can sit and wait for better clubs, that’s a fact believe it or not . Btw isn’t there a spending cap clubs can pay in wages . Maybe that’s why we need to ship 1 or 2 out .
But then again I’m only supporter and not the owner .

Not said that at all, yet again finding excuses for failure in the recruitment of players. "just sign any player" makes it sound like other clubs that have done business are signing "just any player" i don't buy that, they are just better at recruitment than us, why do people always jump on defending the backroom boys at RUFC but are quick to attack players or coaches (not saying you personally). As i have said my belief is the reason we haven't signed has little to do with who we are, what the social environment is around the club or how hard the market is, it is because the club are tightening the financial belt and have given up on this season.

[Stovicmiller]

We will have to wait and see what the squad looks like at the end of the transfer window. Not looking good at the moment tho .

[MillersJ81]

Not said that at all, yet again finding excuses for failure in the recruitment of players. "just sign any player" makes it sound like other clubs that have done business are signing "just any player" i don't buy that, they are just better at recruitment than us, why do people always jump on defending the backroom boys at RUFC but are quick to attack players or coaches (not saying you personally). As i have said my belief is the reason we haven't signed has little to do with who we are, what the social environment is around the club or how hard the market is, it is because the club are tightening the financial belt and have given up on this season.

No excuses from me but in a difficult window for every club, we are on the bottom rung of the ladder when signing players we need to try and make us better . It’s definitely a players market in January , surely we agree on that , every player are under contract and getting paid . Do better players fancy a relegation battle ? Some might, most won’t . Not trying pick an argument but just see things differently to you .

[gru]

To put it into prospective last time we went down from the championship we got Ryan Giles on loan saying he's going out again same we couldn't get him now. Same with Tavernier. Our ground isn't big enough that's if then we could increase the fan base. Agents have got more control now pushing wage demands up of players needed to keep clubs in the championship making it more difficult than ever for clubs of our size to compete. TS says we're in the entertainment industry but how can we be in the championship now with the current set up we've got?

[Derbymiller]

Not said that at all, yet again finding excuses for failure in the recruitment of players. "just sign any player" makes it sound like other clubs that have done business are signing "just any player" i don't buy that, they are just better at recruitment than us, why do people always jump on defending the backroom boys at RUFC but are quick to attack players or coaches (not saying you personally). As i have said my belief is the reason we haven't signed has little to do with who we are, what the social environment is around the club or how hard the market is, it is because the club are tightening the financial belt and have given up on this season.

No excuses from me but in a difficult window for every club, we are on the bottom rung of the ladder when signing players we need to try and make us better . It’s definitely a players market in January , surely we agree on that , every player are under contract and getting paid . Do better players fancy a relegation battle ? Some might, most won’t . Not trying pick an argument but just see things differently to you .

yes i agree it is hard, but life is hard, the bottom line is it is 17th day in a window so over 50% of the way through and our squad is weaker than on the 1st january and all we hear is excuses. As I have said i think the market is a factor but it is not the main reason, yes i am speculating but being all the club give us is platitudes what else can we do? I think the club is tightening the belts and saving money hopefully to better invest when we get rid of a lot of the dead wood from the failures of the summer window (accepting some of the failures are due to extensive injuries). I actually understand that as a strategy i would prefer us to be a bit more bullish and try and save the season, especially as fans have paid for season tickets but it is what it is. I suppose what winds me up is the failure driven mindset, and the negative views as to why we can't improve the way the club is run or achieve more, it isn't a mindset I have ever understood.

[MillersJ81]

To put it into prospective last time we went down from the championship we got Ryan Giles on loan saying he's going out again same we couldn't get him now. Same with Tavernier. Our ground isn't big enough that's if then we could increase the fan base. Agents have got more control now pushing wage demands up of players needed to keep clubs in the championship making it more difficult than ever for clubs of our size to compete. TS says we're in the entertainment industry but how can we be in the championship now with the current set up we've got?

. Ryan Giles is a quality player. He didn’t play enough while he was on loan with us . He will be looking at a top end move to the championship surely. A few like him would definitely makes us better .

[NorthWestCorner]

Last January we made a real effort to stay in the league. Yes, we can question the quality of some of the signings with hindsight but the Board showed the ambition. So far this January, it has been worringly silent. Things may change but I am getting the feeling that old Tony has lost his interest......i do hope I am wrong.

[Grist_To_The_Mill]

Last January we made a real effort to stay in the league. Yes, we can question the quality of some of the signings with hindsight but the Board showed the ambition. So far this January, it has been worringly silent. Things may change but I am getting the feeling that old Tony has lost his interest......i do hope I am wrong.

I think TS is now seeing that the ambition has resulted in a club where the financial outgoings are much bigger than the incomings

[ragingpup]

[QUOTE=Derbymiller;40429869]

I suppose what winds me up is the failure driven mindset, and the negative views as to why we can't improve the way the club is run or achieve more, it isn't a mindset I have ever understood.

The thing that hinders you, me and everybody who supports the club is that we really have no idea what efforts and actions are already being undertaken by the recruitment team. If you and I were sat with them, and asked them to explain all of the behind the scenes actions, efforts and the reasons for why some strategies worked but most strategies in trying to sign proven championship quality players above our competitors haven't worked, we could then discuss more fruitfully what strategies and innovations they are neglecting to use, or indeed we might come away thinking, "Jeez, these guys are doing everything, but I didn't realise how complex it is to bag players to succeed at this level".

That will understandably never happen, so we won't know. I think the key difference is that, due to the fact that we have had the most successful decade in my 50 years following the Millers, I am tending to trust the team that have contributed to that success. Not blindly, but I tend to imagine how hard it must be to put in huge amounts of effort and have players stolen from you at the last minute in a cut throat money dominated market. You however, seem to work on the assumption that there is loads more that can and should be being done, but when I asked you what, you didn't respond. So, specifically, what do you have in mind that we should be trying to do that will make it more likely that a proven championship player will sign for us over the other championship clubs?